Cape Canaveral

We left St Augustine about 11am and sailed all day and all through the night and arrived in Cape Canaveral about 11am. It was still cold but this time we had not driving rain which made the over night passage a lot more enjoyable.
When we arrived at the marina, both boats were moored beside each other and after we were happy they were tied properly we washed all the salt of the boats. Whilst doing this the weather improved vastly and off came the thick coat and woolly hat and about time too.

After all the jobs were done we had a snooze for a couple of hours and then we went out for something to eat. Michael had been to this area before so he knew the perfect place to eat and it was really nice too. On our way out to we saw a Osprey sitting on the mast of the boat and it was just staring at us. I have never been so close to this stunning bird too.

After a good nights sleep we got up early and caught a taxi to Kennedy Space Centre. I was really looking forward to seeing this place as I had heard so many good things about it and I can tell you it lived up to everything I thought it was going to.
It was a bit expensive to get in but after seeing other places in America it does not surprise me at all. I was in America many years ago and it was cheaper than the UK but I can tell you the UK is much cheaper then this country now. Never mind I was not going to let that disappoint my day.

Once through the entrance you come across a picture of John F Kennedy with his famous words from his speech. "For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest but by a banner of freedom and peace"

I was so impressed with this place and all the stories about every little thing that went on. They do their best to thank everyone from the tea lady to the astronaut's and when you see the size of one of the rocks you can't help but be impressed and gob smacked at the same time, but I think the space shuttle "Atlantis" was the icing on the cake for me. To be told how it was built and how long it took them to do it was out of this world and to think it did so many missions too was just amazing.

For me this place is a must for everyone and if you ever get a chance to go then do it, as its worth every penny.

After a great day and a good nights sleep we left a little bit later in the day as we did not want to be at our next destination until it was day light so we departed about 3pm which gave me enough time to get some washing done and get a nice hot shower.

Next stop...... Palm Beach..

St Augustine

After a good night’s sleep, we awoke about 5.30am and start the generator and engine so it could tick over nicely before we headed out into the Atlantic once again. The rain was still pelting down, and the wind was still there but we needed to get down the coast in daylight. We steamed out into the Atlantic and the wind had changed direction which was good, and we had no following sea’s, and it was a lot calmer too. It was still freezing cold and the wind was coming straight from the west and we had its broad side on. We were flying at some stages and reached about 30 knots and averaged 8 knots the whole day.

We eventually arrived about 2pm into St Augustine which is the oldest city in America. We had to wait about half an hour for the bridge to be opened before we could get our mooring ball, but this was not a problem as the sun started to shine and we could see an old fort which would be nice to visit. After mooring the boat, we jumped into the dingy and headed over to the marina to pay for our stay and show our documents. After that we tied the dingy to the dock we walked into the city, and I have to say it was a beautiful city too. It was full of charm with its old buildings and cobble streets and it had a fantastic feel about the place.  We could not believe how busy it was and after asking someone what was going on we found out it was the Christmas Boat Carnival. The place was buzzing, and we had to wait over an hour just to get a table for something to eat but I can tell you it was worth it.

The next day we had a look around the city and made our way to the old fort. I’m used to Bamburgh Castle or Dunstanburgh Castle and they are both big, but I have to say for America and what history it has I was very impressed with it and the staff were amazing too. They even fired a real cannon without the cannonball of course but it gave you a real feel hard it was back in the day. 

The bridge opened every half an hour for all the boats passing through.

Dingy Dock. Loads of sailing folk moored their dingy's here but you can see the docks were empty at the other side as it was damaged during the hurricane.

Jam packed streets 

  Old buildings every where and some where made out of compressed seashells. 

The bridge across into the fort

They slept in here on straw beds

Inside the fort

The guys were just about to set of the cannon. It was really load too. 

After a lovely stop, we headed out once again and sailed down the coast towards Cape Canaveral.

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR READING OUR BLOG

OVER AND OUT

Here we go....

The day had finally arrived, and we only had a few jobs to do before we set sail. We topped up the boat with fresh water, did the final checks on the engines etc and paid our dues to the marina. All Kim, Simon and Sienna had to do was to say goodbye to their friends and while they were doing that I went to help another sailor who was solo sailing and needed a little bit of help to get off the dock, so he could get some fuel.

I jumped onboard the boat with him and we headed towards the fuelling dock. After filling up I gave him a push off and off he went. I have to take my hat off to this guy, as he is 70 years of age and still sailing on his own and loving every minute too. Got to love him for that.

After he set off, I ran back to Simon’s boat and jumped onboard. His friends let the ropes go and after a few tears we waved goodbye.

We motored out of the marina, down the Charleston channel and out into the Atlantic where we set our sail for the first time and then Simon turned off the engine. All I can say is that it is a weird feeling knowing that the wind is moving along on total silence. All I could hear was the waves and the wind, but we were motoring at 7 knots and it was free…. Yes free…  No fuel being used just us and the sea ahead with solar panels powering the batteries all we would have to do is sit back and enjoy.

Well if you know the sea at all, then you will know that this is not the case. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped, and the seas turned rough. I had gone from shorts and flip flops to woolly hat, gloves and winter clothes. Oh boy, it was freezing out here. It was like being at home again but this time I was going to sail through the night too. Talk about being thrown into the deep end and it was so cold that Simon decided not to do 3 hours on watch and 3 hours off, but 2 on and 2 off. It made total sense as we were both frozen to the bone during our 2 hours on deck and we were glad to get out of the wind and the cold. What made things worse was the driving rain that decided to join us I the middle of the night. It was bad enough the with the wind and the cold but rain hitting you so hard it hurts is not nice at all. We had winds gusting 30 knots, the seas were about 2 meters and in the dark of the night all you could see was the whites of the waves breaking in the moon light. At times I was glad it was pitch black as I could not see the size of the seas.

After sailing for 23 hours we eventually arrived in Amelia Island. It was a beautiful island, so we decided to get a little bit sleep and then have a look around the island about 3pm. We were at anchor on an anchor ball provided by the marina for 20 dollars a day which was really good value and then we launched our dingy to go and pick up Michael from his boat. Michael was the guy who I helped fill up with fuel and he decided to sail with us down the coast.

After paying the marina for our stay we went to the pub for a stiff one. I have never had a drink for 5 years now, but I pushed the boat out and had a shandy. Yes, I know it’s not really a drink. We had hardly left the pub when Michael got a call from the marina saying his boat had come off the mooring. We rushed back to the dingy, started it up and sped across to his yacht. Lucky for Michael’s sake a couple from another yacht managed to grab a hold of his boat and tie it against theirs without any damage done either boat. The luck of the Irish was on his side this evening. We started his engine and headed back to another mooring buoy where we put two ropes around the mooring buoy just in case one broke and the other was there for back up. After everything was tied up good and tight we made our way back into town for something to eat.

Michael was a little shocked and who can blame him after that. Its his home and when we arrived at the restaurant he entitled to another stiff one. After a lovely meal we arrived back at the yachts for an early night as we were leaving at 6am the next day as we were heading to St Augustine and we wanted to be there for day light as the mooring buoy was in a shallow area and it’s better to do that during the day than night.

 THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR READING OUR BLOG

OVER AND OUT

Nearly ready to sail.

We have been working really hard over the last few days getting the boat ready to sail and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
The boat is polished, the hull is cleaned, anchor winch switch is fixed and lots of little jobs being done now before we set sail into the ocean.
Its all hands on deck as the start line gets closer. Sienna has now finished school but she had her 1st day of home schooling on the boat on Monday which I think really well.
Simon and Kim are getting the final things put into place before we leave and hopefully everything goes smoothly while we sail.

Here is a few pictures of the jobs we have been doing and hopefully this will be the last as we enjoy the sailing adventure.

Let the adventure begin

Over the next few weeks I will not be posting about our adventures around the Farnes but I will be posting about my adventures from another boat.
I have been lucky enough to be given the chance by my family to join another family on their yacht sailing from Charleston USA to the Caribbean.
I have been here for two days now and we are getting the boat ready for sailing so its all hands on deck before we set sail, so over the next few weeks my adventure will be a little bit different but still on the water and hopefully still seeing loads of wildlife but fingers crossed its in calm seas with fair winds.
The family have been very kind to me and made me feel at home straight away which makes life a lot easier for and I suppose for them too. It must be weird for them having a stranger come into their home and to make things worse its not like a house where you can escape but its a yacht and we are on top of each other but I have to take my hat off to them as they have feel so welcome its like home from home.
I have my own room in the bow (front) of the boat and I share a small bathroom with their daughter Sienna who is a real chatter box and is 7 years of age.  She loves life on the boat and has just finished school, so her mam Kim, is going to home school her during their adventures. Simon is the captain and he is also an Englishman and Kim is an American so its apt that they called their boat BRITICAN.

Personally I'm really excited to be given this opportunity to do something that I have never done before and if you know me at all, you will know that I don't do land so this might seem like a busman's holiday but for me its home from home but just a little bit different, so bring it on.

I will keep you updated during different stages of the trip but the internet is not the best so sometimes I don't get anything at all so please bare with me and hopefully you will enjoy the ride.

November Update

So far it has been really good throughout November and we have still been getting out on the water which is really good for the time of the year.
We are still seeing loads too and with the seal pupping season in full swing now its still worth going out.

We have seen a good few things over the last few weeks with a nice woodcock at the Longstone Island and of course we have seen the Black Guillemot a few times.
We have seen a single Bottlenose Dolphin as well and a pod of 30 which is always good. This has to be the best year for the dolphins and we are still seeing them too. I will leave that for another blog post.

We also saw a single puffin just as we approached the islands and we also spotted a single Great Northern Diver on the way out of the harbour. I do love the divers and its not very often we get to see them so close either. We have a good few lingering Guillemots at this time of the year to and we even saw one on the rocks the other day. Its also the time of the year for Little Auks but I have only managed to see a few so far this year.

I have also been taking divers out and they are having some great fun with the seals are they are very playful at this time of the year. What we don't tell the divers is that they are really horny too. Shhh I did not say that...

I suppose at this time of the year its all about the seal pups and the rangers have been out and about doing their seal counts. The last time they were out the numbers were up to 1497 so they are on the way to breaking the record but that will all depend on the weather and the seals themselves. Hopefully it will be a good season even if they don't break the farnes record.

Hopefully I will do a few more blog posts before I tell you all some exciting news. Watch (Read) this space.

Thank you once again for reading this blog and I do hope we are keeping you all up to date with what's happening around the Farnes.